These chocolate cupcakes are so moist, fluffy, chocolate-y, and delicious. They’re sure to satisfy any chocolate cravings! The chocolate buttercream frosting is silky, flavorful and not too sweet, making it easy to enjoy these cupcakes and not feel sick afterwards. They can easily be made dairy-free with just a couple simple ingredient swaps, if dairy is a problem for you. I hope you make this simple, delicious recipe and enjoy!
When it comes to chocolate cake or cupcakes, I just can’t stand when it has vanilla frosting. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE vanilla frosting and often eat extra by the spoonful! In my opinion, when you frost chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, it feels like you’re just eating dark colored, bland cake instead of actual chocolate cake. Peppermint frosting (like on my peppermint chocolate cake), peanut butter, and other flavored frostings that go extremely well with chocolate are perfectly acceptable though. Anyways, that’s my strong opinion about frosting chocolate cake/cupcakes, what’s yours?
This post contains affiliate links to some of my very favorite ingredients. This way it is easy for you to find the ingredients I used at the best price I’ve found. If you click one and purchase anything from Amazon, I will receive a very small percentage of the sale, to support what I do here. Thank you!
Lily’s sugar and dairy free dark chocolate chips are linked here.
Link to my favorite gluten-free flour blend is here.
Link to my favorite organic, flavorless coconut oil is here.
Espresso powder I use for baking is linked here.
Cupcake pan is linked here.
Gluten & Nut Free Chocolate Cupcakes (dairy-free option)
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsps (153 grams) Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking flour
- ¼ cup (24 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ⅛ tsps baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup (158 grams) sugar
- ⅓ cup (64 grams) liquid oil or melted refined coconut oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature if using coconut oil. I usually put them (un-cracked) in a small bowl, pour hot water over top, and let them sit for 5 minutes until no longer cold
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (58 grams) milk of choice room temperature/slightly warmed if using coconut oil
- ⅓ cup (66 grams) boiling water
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
- ⅓ cup (62 grams) semisweet or dark chocolate chips dairy-free if needed
- Scant ½ tsp salt sea salt is preferable
- ¾ (1 ½ sticks, 170 grams) partially soft unsalted butter or vegan butter if you're dairy-free
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (31 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups (195 grams) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners (you might need a couple more, sometimes this recipe makes a dozen cupcakes, sometimes 14). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 C). Preheat more than enough water on the stove (or however you want), so that it will be boiling when it's time to mix into the batter.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the GF flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until there are no cocoa lumps. In a large bowl using an electric hand-mixer (you could also use a stand mixer), whip the sugar, oil, and eggs together until light and fluffy.
- Add half of the dry mixture and mix until combined. Pour in the vanilla and milk of choice and mix until incorporated. Add the remaining dry mixture and mix until completely smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to ensure nothing goes unmixed. While the mixer is running on low-speed, carefully pour in the boiling water. Once it is added, turn the mixer to high and mix very well.
- Distribute the batter between the cupcake liners, filling each one ⅔ full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely at room temperature.
Frosting:
- In a large glass bowl, heat the chocolate in the microwave 20 seconds at a time, mixing well in between each interval, until melted and smooth. Add the salt and if the bowl feels quite warm, let it cool down slightly for about 5-10 minutes (it's okay if it's a little warm).
- Add the butter and vanilla to the chocolate and salt mixture and mix (using an electric hand mixer) for a couple minutes, until well combined and silky smooth. Add the cocoa powder and mix until combined. Add ½ cup of powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined. Repeat 2 more times (total three ½ cup additions). Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula and continue mixing until fluffy and you are absolutely certain everything is well combined.
Assembly:
- If you are not piping, add a good sized glob of frosting to the top of each cooled cupcake and spread with a frosting spatula. Have fun and add creative swoops, swirls, or patterns using a spoon, the tip of a frosting spatula, or a knife. Enjoy!
- If you are piping, add your desired piping tip to a piping bag (I recommend a large-sized tip). Transfer the frosting to the bag and pipe to decorate the cooled cupcakes however you wish! Enjoy!
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